Armoured Angel

Armoured Angel
Origin	Canberra, ACT
Genres	Death metal, thrash metal
Years active	1984 - 1996, 1998 - 1999
Labels	Id, Warhead
Associated acts	Psychrist, Reign of Terror, Kill for Satan
Past members	Dave Davis, Joel Green, Matt Green, Glen "Lucy" Luck, Steve Luff, Tony Sheaffe, Rick Wayy, Yuri Ward

Band members

• Final line-up
  • Glen "Lucy" Luck (bass)
  • Yuri Ward (guitar, vocals)
  • Steve Luff (drums)

• Former members
  • Joel Green (drums, vocals) 1987 - 1995
  • Matt Green (guitar) 1987 - 1995
  • Dave Davis (drums) 1985 - 1987
  • Tony Sheaffe (guitar) 1985 - 1987
  • Rick Wayy (vocals) 1985 - 1987

Formed

Canberra, ACT, 1984

Band information

Armoured Angel is truly one of Australia's legendary extreme acts and one of the earliest groups from anywhere to play the dense and intense style of heavy metal that would later be branded as death metal. The band began in Canberra in 1984 around Lucy and in an embryonic form was a thrash band featuring Lucy, Rick Wayy (vocals), Dave Davis (drums) and Tony Sheaffe (guitar). This line-up produced an early demo titled "Baptism in Blood" in 1985.

By 1987, Armoured Angel had shed most of its personnel and the band was stripped back to a trio of Lucy plus Joel (drums, vocals) and Matt (guitar) Green. So the band's classic line-up came to be and lasted another nine years. During this time, Armoured Angel recorded two demos, two EPs and toured Europe and the US, as well as appearing at the Big Day Out and establishing the annual Metal for the Brain festival.

Their classic 1988 demo "Wings of Death" was the beginning of the Armoured Angel's huge loyal cult following. 1990 saw the release of the "Communion" demo and a subsequent east coat tour that scored Armoured Angel a major label deal with Id records, a development arm of Polygram. "Wings of Death" was later issued as a vinyl EP by English label CCG in 1991.

After the savage beating of friend Alec Hurley that left him permanently brain damaged, Joel Green organised the first Metal for the Brain festival in late 1991 as a fund-raising event. The show quickly became an annual tradition and Armoured Angel played every year until 1996.

The "Stigmartyr" EP was released in 1992 on Id and was followed two years later by "Mysterium". Resultant tours with Morbid Angel and Bolt Thrower and appearances at both the Sydney and Melbourne Big Days Out helped to raise the band's profile both in Australia and overseas. Armoured Angel toured throughout Germany and the UK in 1995 and laid the foundations of a full-length album to be produced by Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman but before it was finished the Green brothers left the band due to the direction the recording of the album was headed, putting a lot of internal stress on the band. Armoured Angel band ended with their final performance being at the Melbourne BDO in January 1996.

In mid-1998, Lucy reformed Armoured Angel with Yuri Ward of Psychrist on guitar and vocals and drummer Steve Luff and began playing live once more, returning to the Metal for the Brain stage in October. The full-length CD Angel of the Sixth Order was released by Warhead Records in early 1999 and more touring ensued, with Ward splittling his time between this band, Psychrist and Lord Kaos but Luff left and Armoured Angel stalled once more. Armoured Angel remains one of the most revered of all Australian metal bands, and their songs have been covered on recordings by Atomizer, Contrive and The Amenta.

In late 2006 Green, Green and Luck reunited to remaster 22 tracks for a compilation album but this has never been released. 2008 saw the re-release of the "Baptism in Blood" demo as a 7" EP. In 2009, Tony Kirk and Joel Green formed the studio project Wardom. Wardom released a debut EP in 2010.

Hymns of Hate, the long awaited release compiling of all the recordings of Armoured Angel's pre-Warhead era was released in October 2012.

Discography

Albums:

	1999	Angel of the Sixth Order	Warhead

EPs:

	1992	Stigmartyr	self release thru Id
	1994	Mysterium	self release thru Id